Stock futures fall after Wall Street closed out August with losses

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday morning after the major averages closed out August with losses and investors considered the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 140 points, or 0.44%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.71% and 1.19%, respectively. Those moves follow four straight days of losses in the major averages. On the final day of August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid nearly 0.9%. The S&P 500 lost about 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell roughly 0.6%. The Dow closed the month down about 4.1%, while the S&P and Nasdaq recorded losses of 4.2% and 4.6%, respectively. Investors are debating whether stocks will again challenge the June lows in September, a historically poor month for markets, after weighing recent hawkish comments from Fed officials who show no signs of easing up on interest rate hikes. On Wednesday, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said she expects interest rates to rise above 4% before the central bank can start pulling back. The current fed funds rate is 2.25%-2.50. "If we retest the lows, I think it happens in September," SoFi's Liz Young said Wednesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime." However, she added, "I think in order to do so, something would have to get materially worse than it was on June 16," when stocks bottomed, such as earnings revisions that come in worse than investors are expecting.

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Cramer says avoid all speculative investments like crypto as the Fed stays hawkish

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday implored investors to stay away from speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, warning that they will continue to struggle during the ongoing Federal Reserve tightening cycle. "Look, Fed chief Jay Powell told us that we need to stop doing stupid things with our money. That was the thrust of his speech on Friday," the "Mad Money" host said, referring to the top U.S. central banker's Jackson Hole address, in which Powell warned the Fed's commitment to squashing inflation could bring "some pain" to American businesses and households. Wall Street has finished lower in three straight sessions as investors digest Powell's Friday morning remarks. Powell is "going to bring the pain until it puts an end to the gambling," Cramer said. "Of course, he'll also hurt some good investments in the process ... but we won't see the end of this decline until we get a giant washout of all things that are speculative." That includes, but is not limited to, cryptocurrencies, said Cramer, who also acknowledged he no longer believes in the argument that bitcoin is a store of value. In Cramer's opinion, other speculative parts of the market to avoid are money-losing firms that went public via special purpose acquisition companies and meme stocks. "This is what it looks like when the Fed gets serious," Cramer said. What matters is that we just have to get through it intact. Don't get memed. Don't get SPAC'd. Don't get crypto'd. And you'll get through this thicket and find yourself in a much better time when we are sufficiently oversold for a huge bounce."

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Dow futures sink 300 points as Friday's rout on Wall Street looks set to continue

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 26, 2022 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Stock futures fell on Sunday evening as investors tried to shake off a sharp decline in stocks at the end of last week. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 300 points, or about 0.93%. Those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.18% and 1.6%, respectively. The moves in futures come after a brutal sell-off for Wall Street on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's short and blunt remarks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, appeared to extinguish hopes of the central bank changing its aggressive course of rate hikes in the months ahead. The Dow fell 1,008 points, or just over 3%, for its worst day since May. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively, for their worst days since June. The drop erased the August gains for all three averages. "Investors again cut back on their recent Risk-On positioning, supporting our view that it is way too soon to call their recent risk appetite a more permanent stance, and now one more likely to have cost them badly," Rick Bensignor of Bensignor Investment Strategies said in a note to clients.

The coming week brings more Fed speeches, including Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Tuesday, before August's nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

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Playing the sustainable energy transition

Earlier this month, the Biden administration took a major step in combating the climate crisis with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes roughly $370 billion in energy and climate incentives – mostly in the form of tax credits, according to Goldman Sachs. But with potential ripple effects on global supply chains as the domestic economy shifts toward a more energy-efficient era, strategic ETF investors can stand to benefit from the advances. "It's very clear that the administration is using the carrot," Tim Johnston, partner at Blue Horizon Capital and co-founder of Li-Cycle, told Leslie Picker in an interview Monday on CNBC's "ETF Edge." "Trying to incentivize people to domesticate or at least work with fair trade countries in order to bolster the supply chain." Johnston said that incentives are decisive in building infrastructure for a sustainable energy generation, and how we use that energy all the way through. "This capital that's flowing in through the administration, it's not just coming from the form of loans and grants," he said. "It's also coming through in the form of tax incentives, so all we're expecting to see is a structural benefit that's geared towards some of these companies that are really helping with this overall transition." And with a recent push toward sustainable ETFs, the move could double as a catalyst to drive further flows in those clean energy companies and industries that stand to benefit. "It's not as though clean energy is new to the ETF space," Tom Lydon, vice chairman at VettaFi, said in the same interview. "There have been some great ETFs have been around for over a decade." Two of the biggest, Lydon said, are the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN). The two funds collectively have $9 billion in assets and are up year to date. "Most of those ETFs that we have today tend to be cap weighted, so there's more invested in fewer companies," he said, which leaves less allocation to bolster up-and-coming companies in the clean energy space. Beyond the dominating ETFs in the clean energy sphere, Lydon said that strategic investors need to look at other areas like smaller and overseas companies, and producers of lithium cobalt – not just battery or solar companies. "We're going to need those minerals as we continue to move this clean energy process forward," Lydon said. Among the funds driving the transition to new energy is the Blue Horizon New Energy Economy ETF (BNE), which acts as a single index solution to gain global exposure to clean energy themes. Johnston said that Blue Horizon looks at the transition as being broken out across five broad segments: energy generation, distribution and storage, as well as e-mobility and performance materials – commodities like lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earths. "This transition is really broad based, it's not just here in North America," he said. "And what we're trying to do is identifying what we consider the leaders." That includes staple companies like Tesla that most every ETF investor has, Johnston said, while also incorporating areas like new types of battery technology subgroups and solar power. "We see them as being an important part of this transition as we go forward," he said.

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U.S. stock futures flat after Dow, S&P 500 break three-day slide

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, August 24, 2022. Source: NYSE

U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday night after all three major averages ended higher during the daily trading session. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 8 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.14% and 0.13%, respectively. Shares of Nvidia slid more than 2% on the heels of a quarterly report that missed Wall Street's expectations. Salesforce fell more than 4% after the company provided a disappointing forecast for fiscal 2023. Snowflake jumped 16% after posting a beat on revenue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 59.64 points, or 0.18%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.29% Wednesday. For both averages, the gains snapped three-day long losing streaks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also ticked up 0.41%. The market action occurs as investors await the start of the Jackson Hole economic symposium, which begins Thursday with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to speak the following morning. Traders will be listening for more information about how the central bank will combat high inflation and if policymakers may cut rates when the current hiking cycle is over. "It's steady as it goes, it's way too early for the Fed to consider a pivot," said Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research, on CNBC's "Fast Money." Investors are also waiting for key economic reports scheduled to come out later in the week, including jobless claims Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures Friday. The PCE report is one of the Fed's favorite inflation measures, and it could influence its actions going forward.

Peloton reports quarterly earnings Thursday before the bell, along with Gap, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. Ulta Beauty, Workday and Affirm Holdings will release their own results after markets close Thursday.

#U.S #stock #futures #flat #Dow #break #threeday #slide https://www.globalcourant.com/u-s-stock-futures-flat-after-dow-sp-500-break-three-day-slide/?feed_id=15377&_unique_id=6306a4d7c2f83

Stock futures fall as Wall Street looks ahead to Jackson Hole

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Aug. 9, 2022. Source: NYSE

U.S. stock futures fell on Sunday night following a halt in the summer rally last week, as fears of aggressive interest rate hikes returned to Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid by 93 points, or 0.28%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.35% and 0.53%, respectively. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed down 1.29%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 292 points, or 0.86%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.01%. Those moves come ahead of what could be a volatile week of trading on Wall Street. Investors are anticipating Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's latest comments on inflation at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium. "We've written a couple of times recently about wait and see trading ahead of key events/releases... and how that can set the stage for greater volatility around the events themselves, and we may see a bit of that play out next week as investors await the symposium," read a Friday note from Susquehanna's Christopher Jacobson.

On the earnings front, traders are expecting Palo Alto Networks and Zoom Video to report results Monday after the bell.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/stock-futures-fall-as-wall-street-looks-ahead-to-jackson-hole/?feed_id=14003&_unique_id=6302d435499a0

China's consumer and factory data miss expectations in July

Employees working on an air-conditioner production line at a Midea factory in Guangzhou, China.

Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images

BEIJING — China reported data for July that came in well below expectations.

Retail sales grew by 2.7% in July from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. That's well below the 5% growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and down from growth of 3.1% in  June. Within retail sales, catering, furniture and construction-related categories saw declines.

Sales of autos, one of the largest categories by value, rose by 9.7%. The gold, silver and jewelry category saw sales rise the most, up by 22.1%.

Industrial production rose by 3.8%, also missing expectations for 4.6% growth and a drop from the prior month's 3.9% increase.

Fixed asset investment for the first seven months of the year rose by 5.7% from a year ago, missing expectations for 6.2% growth.

Investment into real estate fell at a faster pace in July than June, while investment into manufacturing slowed its pace of growth. Investment into infrastructure rose at a slightly faster pace in July than in June. Fixed asset investment data is only released on a year-to-date basis.

The unemployment rate among China's youth, ages 16 to 24, was a high 19.9%. The unemployment rate across all ages in cities was 5.4%.

"The national economy maintained the momentum of recovery," the statistics bureau said in a statement. But it warned of rising "stagflation risks" globally and said "the foundation for the recovery of the domestic economy is yet to be consolidated."

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Analyst forecasts for July were projected to show a pickup in economic activity from June, as China put the worst of this year's Covid-related lockdowns behind it, especially in the metropolis of Shanghai.

Exports remained robust last month, surging by 18% year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms despite growing concerns of falling global demand. Imports lagged, climbing by just 2.3% in July from a year earlier.

However, China's massive real estate sector has come under renewed pressure this summer. Many homebuyers halted their mortgage payments to protest developer delays in constructing homes, which are typically sold ahead of completion in China.

The deterioration in confidence puts developers' future sales — and an important source of cash flow — at risk.

The potential for a Covid outbreak has remained another drag on sentiment. A surge of infections in tourist destinations, especially the island province of Hainan, stranded tens of thousands of tourists this month.

The local situation reflects the large gap between goals set at the beginning of the year and the ensuing reality. Hainan had set a GDP target of 9%, but was only able to grow by 1.6% in the first six months.

Similarly, at a national level, China's GDP grew by just 2.5% in the first half of the year, running well below the full-year target of around 5.5% set in March.

China's top leaders indicated at a meeting in late July the country might miss its GDP goal for the year. The meeting did not signal any forthcoming large-scale stimulus, while noting the importance of stabilizing prices.

The country's consumer price index hit a two-year high in July as pork prices rebounded.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/chinas-consumer-and-factory-data-miss-expectations-in-july/?feed_id=10993&_unique_id=62f9b4a8b8cd5

Dow futures are flat after Wednesday's market rally

Dow futures were flat in overnight trading on Wednesday after all the major averages posted sharp gains on the back of a better-than-expected July inflation report.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones added 0.02% or 6 points, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.07% and 0.13% lower, respectively.

Disney added 6.7% in late trading after posting stronger-than-anticipated subscriber numbers and topping earning estimates on the top and bottom lines. Shares of Sonos slumped more than 19% after missing analysts' expectations.

Wednesday's regular trading session saw all the major indexes rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 535.10 points, or 1.63%, to close at 33,309.51. The S&P 500 added 2.13% to 4,210.24 and hit its highest level since early May, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.89% to 12,854.80, its highest close since late April.

The moves came after the headline consumer price index for July came in at 8.5%, slightly cooler than the 8.7% expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones, and raised questions as to whether inflation has hit its peak and the Federal Reserve will need to hike rates as aggressively as anticipated when it meets next month.

Beaten-up tech shares that have borne the brunt of this year's selloff drove Wednesday's market rally as shares of Meta Platforms and Netflix jumped 5.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Battered chip names such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices jumped nearly 6% and 4%, respectively.

"For today, we're rallying, and I think it's really because inflation has been such an overhang for investors and for the market," Lindsey Bell, Ally Invest's chief markets and money strategist told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Wednesday. "And I think what investors are thinking today is maybe the peak really has been put in the past."

Earnings season continues Thursday with reports from Rivian, Warby Parker, Poshmark and more. July producer price index data is also slated for Thursday.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/dow-futures-are-flat-after-wednesdays-market-rally/?feed_id=9236&_unique_id=62f43b8cb1350

Uber and Lyft stocks had their best week ever

Air travelers wait in the ride share lot near a sign for Uber at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on August 20, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Shares of gig economy companies Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Airbnb popped this week after the companies posted quarterly reports that showed strong demand.

Lyft finished the week up 46%, and Uber jumped 37%, the best week ever for both stocks. DoorDash closed up 15%, and Airbnb rose for a third straight week, climbing 5.5%.

Investors are encouraged to see that gig companies in the consumer market are, so far, withstanding inflationary pressures that have rocked other sectors, such as retail. It also may be an indication that grocery delivery platform Instacart can form a stronger pitch for an IPO. Instacart confidentially filed for an IPO in May, though it's had to bring its private market valuation down.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he's noticed a change in consumer spending from retail to services. And inflation may even have helped. Khosrowshahi said Uber saw a boost in the number of drivers on the platform as consumers look to other ways to increase their income.

Airbnb, meanwhile, posted an all-time high in bookings. DoorDash said it had a record number of orders. Lyft, which still had a net loss, posted its highest ever adjusted earnings figure.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Uber reported revenue of $8.07 billion, well above analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. Khosrowshahi said that driver engagement reached another post-pandemic high during the quarter.

• Lyft reported a 16% increase in active riders, to 19.9 million, the highest since the start of the pandemic.

• DoorDash posted better-than-expected revenue. Though it reported a wider loss per share than estimated, the company recorded 23% growth in the total number of delivered orders.

• Shares of Airbnb were up for the third week in a row. The company posted higher-than-expected earnings Tuesday and revenues in line with expectations for the second quarter. Airbnb said gross nights booked for cross-border travel exceeded pre-pandemic levels and doubled compared with the same period last year.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/uber-and-lyft-stocks-had-their-best-week-ever/?feed_id=7164&_unique_id=62ed99a6684ed

S&P 500 sheds nearly 1% Friday on Snap-led tech sell-off, but finishes higher on week

The S&P 500 fell nearly 1% on Friday, but finished the week higher, as investors digested disappointing results from Snap that sent social media shares reeling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 137.61 points, or 0.43%, to 31,899.29. The S&P 500 declined 0.93% to 3,961.63, while the Nasdaq Composite traded 1.87% lower to 11,834.11.

Those losses cut into weekly gains for all three major averages, with the Dow closing out the week nearly 2% higher. The S&P 500 advanced about 2.6%, and the Nasdaq capped the week up 3.3%.

An earnings miss from Snap, which sent shares tumbling about 39.1%, halted this week's Nasdaq rally. Traders, eyeing some better-than-expected results from tech companies, had deliberated whether markets had finally found a bottom.

"Snap has managed to snap the uptrend in the Nasdaq by reporting disappointing earnings, which has created a cascading effect on the S&P," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

"This is just an example of the volatility that investors should expect as earnings are reported, and, therefore, could cause fluctuations in prices in response to better than or worse than results," Stovall added.

The results from the Snapchat parent were followed by a slew of analyst downgrades on the stock. Snap's quarterly report also weighed on other social media and tech stocks, which investors feared could face slowing online advertising sales.

Shares of Meta Platforms and Pinterest fell about 7.6% and 13.5%, respectively, while Alphabet lost 5.6%.

Twitter rose 0.8% despite reporting disappointing second-quarter results that missed on earnings, revenue and user growth. The social media company blamed challenges in the ad industry, as well as "uncertainty" around Elon Musk's acquisition of the company, for the miss.

Verizon was the worst-performing member of the Dow after reporting earnings. The wireless network operator dropped 6.7% after cutting its full-year forecast, as higher prices dented phone subscriber growth.

About 21% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings so far. Of those, nearly 70% have beaten analyst expectations, according to FactSet.

Economic data weighs on sentiment

Meanwhile, concerns over the state of the U.S. economy also weighed on sentiment after the release of more downbeat economic data. A preliminary reading on the U.S. PMI Composite output index — which tracks activity across the services and manufacturing sectors — fell to 47.5, indicating contracting economic output. That's also the index's lowest level in more than two years.

The report comes a day after the U.S. government reported an unexpected uptick in weekly jobless claims, raising questions about the health of the labor market.

Still, Wall Street has enjoyed a strong week for markets, as traders absorbed second-quarter results that have come in better than feared. On Friday, the S&P 500 touched the 4,000 level, which it hasn't hit since June 9, before coming back down.

The Dow got a boost earlier in the session following a robust earnings report from American Express. The credit card company jumped about 1.9% after beating analyst expectations, because of record consumer spending in areas such as travel and entertainment.

"This is showing you that market expectations are really low, that a little bit of good news can go a long way when you have low expectations," said Truist's Keith Lerner, noting that investors rotated back into growth stocks even amid weak economic data.

To be sure, some market participants do not believe the bear market is over despite this week's gains. Since World War II, nearly two-thirds of one-day rallies of 2.76% or more in the S&P 500 occurred during bear markets, with 71% occurring before the bottom was in, according to a note this week from CFRA's Stovall.

Stovall believes the broader market index could rally as high as the 4,200 level before coming back down to challenge June lows.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

Lea la cobertura del mercado de hoy en español aquí.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/sp-500-sheds-nearly-1-friday-on-snap-led-tech-sell-off-but-finishes-higher-on-week/?feed_id=454&_unique_id=62db294674865